ESET warns that fake GTA 6 downloads are circulating and install Vidar, a password stealer; its researchers found no genuinely playable copy of the game online.
Sources shattered.io
Four days before launch, fake GTA 6 downloads are circulating and installing a password stealer. The warning comes from security firm ESET, relayed by shattered.io citing Technobezz. ESET's researchers found no sign of a genuine, playable copy of the game.
According to shattered.io, an executable named gta6_installer.exe carries Vidar, an infostealer, and no part of the game. It weighs 1.1 MB, a sliver of what a blockbuster needs, and targets saved passwords, autofill data across 19 browsers and FTP credentials. ESET says it found dozens of malicious files posing as GTA VI content.
Huntress examined other traps: GTA VI-themed ISO files above 100 GB, padded to look like a real download. Attackers bet on what players expect: a huge size. The game itself is over 200 GB, as we wrote in our download-time breakdown, which makes a 100 GB file look less suspicious than it should.
The files spread through search manipulation, torrents, social platforms and forums. No breach is needed: an impatient player and a download button are enough. The reporting names no attacker and gives no victim count or loss figure.
Read also GTA 6: Billboard and Rolling Stone confirm the 34-track album list
The game launches November 19 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, and preloading has been open on official stores since November 12. No PC version is announced, so any .exe sold as "GTA 6" is suspect from the start. Dates and platforms are on the release page.
Nothing changes for the schedule, but it is a useful reminder: until November 19, only the PlayStation Store and Xbox Store count. Treat any "early" download as hostile.
Sources shattered.io
Reported Reported by the press, not confirmed by Rockstar
By Daniel Jasner · GTAVIFRANCE newsroom
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